I absolutely agree about scrapping formal written exams. I think one of the factors that came out of the last round of PISA testing was that in the UK we aren't good at creating opportunities for students to apply learned skills and knowledge and that's really they only valid test for deep and secure learning. There's plenty of evidence …
I absolutely agree about scrapping formal written exams. I think one of the factors that came out of the last round of PISA testing was that in the UK we aren't good at creating opportunities for students to apply learned skills and knowledge and that's really they only valid test for deep and secure learning. There's plenty of evidence to show that a high percentage of those taking exams, including at degree level, regain very little of what they have been tested on unless they have a particular interest in the subject or use it in their career. There are some people who are very good at formal exams sometimes because they have a highly retentive memory albeit short term. I've no doubt some of the students who attain high marks in formal exams do so because they have a deep understanding of the underlying ideas and concepts but I suspect they are in the minority. They certainly get few opportunities to demonstrate it. And interestingly the subjects where there is a higher level of demonstrable application such as craft subjects, music, art are often perceived as less important than those deemed as academic. I also thought one of the best reading tests was getting kids to read from a joke book and explain what they found funny.
Yes, learning to do well at testing makes one good at testing, more so than the thing being tested. I have very strong students who are very smart but whose brains don't work in ways that allow them to express their intelligence on a test. For example, a passionate history student who has a very deep conceptual, analytical, and narrative mind but who doesn't retain names and dates.
Students need to start doing vocations from an early age in the safety of schools. I.e., they should be building rockets or robots, doing surgery in analogue ways but with real-world sensibilities, teaching others, solving real problems - doing activities rather than talking about them. Theory will be learned as a consequence of necessity. Theoretical dumping is holding us back from real competence and meaning.
I absolutely agree about scrapping formal written exams. I think one of the factors that came out of the last round of PISA testing was that in the UK we aren't good at creating opportunities for students to apply learned skills and knowledge and that's really they only valid test for deep and secure learning. There's plenty of evidence to show that a high percentage of those taking exams, including at degree level, regain very little of what they have been tested on unless they have a particular interest in the subject or use it in their career. There are some people who are very good at formal exams sometimes because they have a highly retentive memory albeit short term. I've no doubt some of the students who attain high marks in formal exams do so because they have a deep understanding of the underlying ideas and concepts but I suspect they are in the minority. They certainly get few opportunities to demonstrate it. And interestingly the subjects where there is a higher level of demonstrable application such as craft subjects, music, art are often perceived as less important than those deemed as academic. I also thought one of the best reading tests was getting kids to read from a joke book and explain what they found funny.
Yes, learning to do well at testing makes one good at testing, more so than the thing being tested. I have very strong students who are very smart but whose brains don't work in ways that allow them to express their intelligence on a test. For example, a passionate history student who has a very deep conceptual, analytical, and narrative mind but who doesn't retain names and dates.
Students need to start doing vocations from an early age in the safety of schools. I.e., they should be building rockets or robots, doing surgery in analogue ways but with real-world sensibilities, teaching others, solving real problems - doing activities rather than talking about them. Theory will be learned as a consequence of necessity. Theoretical dumping is holding us back from real competence and meaning.